Princeton Pk/PP-DR 970529 (2) City of Coppell
Development Review Committee Comments
Planning Department
Princeton Park, Lots 1-3, Preliminary Plat
DRC Date: May 29, 1997
Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting:
City Council Meeting: July 8, 1997
June 19, 1997
Note:
A.
B.
The Site Plan as submitted is not feasible. Applicant should consider platting the
property into 1 Lot. The Board of Adjustment is authorized by state law to grant the
applicant the variance requested for the deletion of the 10 foot landscape area on each
side of the mutual access easement only if literal enforcement would result in unnecessary
hardship. See pages 6-2 and 6-3 of Duties and Roles of Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Submit a complete set of building elevations which will be presented to the Town Center
Architectural Review Board for their review, include description of building materials.
Only one monument sign is permitted on sites greater than 2 acres. Minimum setbacks
for the sign are 15 feet from street right-of-way and 75 feet from property lines other
than those property lines fronting the street right-of-way. Applicant must also submit an
elevation specifying the building materials to be used for the monument sign.
The dumpster located on the lot line between Lot 2 and Lot 3 must be relocated on either
of the two lots.
Summarize in tabular form the planting material to be used on site with botanical names,
quantities and sizes of the plants at the time of planting.
Submit a separate irrigation plan.
For your information, for Final Plat submittal, the Landscape Plan will have to be signed
and sealed by a Licensed Landscape Architect, as well as the Irrigation Plan will have to
be signed and sealed by a Licensed Irrigator.
Staff written comments will be faxed to each applicant.
Please revise plats, landscape plans, and utility plans based on staff recommendations. Should
applicant disagree with staff comments please provide reasons why staff recommendations should
not be followed when you attend the June 5th Development Review Committee (DRC) meeting.
Each applicant will bring one new set of revised plats and plans to the June 5th DRC meeting.
Applicants will be asked to show, explain and defend any revision. An Engineer for the project
or other representative is urged to attend the meeting.
Applicant will have till noon Tuesday, June 10th to resubmit twenty-eight (28) folded copies of
revised plans and three (3) reduced paper copies (8 1/2 X 11) of each exhibit to the Planning
Department.
Duties and Roles of Zoning Board of Adjustment
A special exception allows a property owner to put his property to a use under the zoning
regulations in accordance with specific conditions. Moody v. (~ity of University Park, 278 SW 2nd
912 (1'ex. Civ. App. - Dallas, 1955, writ res. n.r.e.) The Zoning Ordinance must provide for Special
Exceptions empower the Board to approve such uses.
Many Zoning Ordinances do not contain the specific language and direction required to provide the
authority for the Board to act and, in such cases, no special exceptions may be granted. These are
not the same as Special Permits or Conditional Use Permits, which may be granted by the Planning
and Zoning Commission or City Council under the terms of the adopted Ordinance.
For example, Special Exceptions might include allowing temporary use of property for the sales
office in a newly developing subdivision; allowing a concrete batch plant or asphalt plant to operate
during the construction of a project; a temporary banner for a concert; or approval of home
occupations in a residential area. Each instance must be specified in the Ordinance.
e
Authorize in specific cases a variance from the terms of the Zoning Ordinance when the
variance is not contrary to the public interest and, due to special conditions, · literal
enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship, and so that the spirit of the ordinance is
observed and substantial justice is done. As opposed to special exceptions which allow an
owner to use his property for a specific use, a variance allows him to use his property in a manner
generally forbidden by the zoning ordinance. Con(3re(3ation Committees, North Ft. Worth
Cq)n(]re(]ation. Jehovah's Witnesses v. City Council of Halton City, 217 SW 2nd 700 (Tex. Civ. App.;
- Ft. Worth, 1956, no writ.)
An example might be the plight of a property owner who wants to construct a home but because
the city widened the street in front of his lot, he no longer has enough depth to meet the front yard
setback. If it were not for the loss of land suffered by the street widening, there would be no
problem.
There are a few criteria which the Board of Adjustment should consider in cases where a variance
of this type is requested:
Ao
The hardship must not be self-created (for example, platting of tracts into irregularly shaped
lots);
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Duties and Roles of Zoning Board of Adjustment
The property must have specific conditions in which the literal enforcement of the Ordinance
would create a hardship for the property owner different from his neighbors or other similar
properties;
C. The variance must not result in granting special advantage to the property not also available to
other similar properties;
D. The variance must not result in allowing a change of use of the property not permitted within
the zoning classification of the property.
· Rule 2:
The Board of Adjustment may only authorize variances which cure the effect of
unique, non self-created hardships that do not grant special advantages or
changes in uses not otherwise available to other similarly situated properties.
In some cities, as specifically outlined in the Zoning Ordinance, the Board may be empowered with
additional powers including the following: (i) to interpret the Zoning Ordinance when disagreement
arises; (ii) to decide how unclassified uses should be treated; and, (iii) to allow for the expansion,
change, or termination of nonconforming uses. In many older Zoning Ordinances there may be no
provision for a use such as a video game parlor, water slide park, etc. The Ordinance may grant
the Board of Adjustment the power to classify such uses.
· Rule 3:
Procedures
The Board of Adjustment may only exert jurisdiction to the extent allowed by
State Law and the specific provisions written into the Zoning Ordinance.
The Board shall adopt rules for its operation with the assistance of the City Attorney. The rules
should establish the following rules of procedUre:
· Appointment of a chair;
· Dates or frequency of meetings;
· Rules for placing items on its agenda;
· Methods for sending notices;
· Order of testimony and limits (if any) on time;
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